Link and the Ocarina
by JamesPipe
Summary: A short story of a marooned Link and the magical Ocarina.


There was a boy, who lived on an island. His name was Link. Link was an orphan, who was raised by his grandmother. Link also had a brother, who was also under the grandmother's care. When Link's brother grew into a teenager, the grandmother passed on, due to her age. Both boys were sad. Link's brother made a makeshift raft out of some trees, and sailed off to a nearby island. Link, the younger of the two, was left all alone, to live in his deceased grandmother's hut. Sometimes, Link would look across the water, and see his brother on his island. Link's brother had assembled his own hut, to live in.

But on the day in question, several years later, Link was feeling very sad; his thoughts dwelt on his loving grandmother. Link thought it was unfair that she had died. Link sat on a flat rock next to sea, and stared blankly off into the blue horizon, in the opposite direction of his brother's island. It was a warm, sunny day. The tide placidly lulled against the beach, and the slight breeze cooled Link's forehead. Aside from the island and the hut, Link's grandmother had left him an ocarina.  
* Flute-like wind instrument

Link thought back to his youth, watching his grandmother carve the ocarina out of a wooden depiction of some deity. "Won't you miss the statue?" Link had queried. "If you sacrifice something you care for, you will get something better in return." Link didn't understand, but watched as his grandmother expertly carved an oval shaped instrument out of the statue, and equipped it with thirteen holes. Link was taken outside, to the edge of the island, the farthest spot from the hut. "Now Link, this is how you play it...."

Alone, staring out into the tranquil sea, Link picked the ocarina out of the pouch he kept it in for safe-keeping. Taking a deep breath, Link began to play*. The song was peaceful, and echoed out far over the sea. The music sent slight vibrations through the water. Link played the calming melody, hoping to bring some peace to his heart. Unfortunately, quite the reverse happened.  
*Google 'Ocarina of Time Windmill song' if you're not sure what it sounds like.

The song made Link think about how alone he was. Link had never met his parents, which made Link both angry and sad. Indeed, Link had never seen any humans that weren't his brother or grandmother. Without giving it much thought, the song's tempo picked up a bit of speed, while Link's heart began to beat faster simultaneously. A mysterious wind imminating from Link's island had begun to blow the sea about.

Link recalled his grandmother's tale of the huge sailing ship, which had sunk, killing hundreds and stranding her and the two infants on the deserted island. And this made Link angry. "Why did the boat have to sink?" his brain thought. "It robbed me of a normal life!" Link was not even aware that he was playing the song much too fast, he was so drawn into his thoughts. Link did not notice the dark clouds that were covering the clear sky almost instanteously.

Link was getting furious now, about how his grandmother was stolen. Link was seething, about how he had nothing but a smelly damp hut with a leak in the roof, a desolate island, and a stupid wooden flute. Link's song had turned from a peaceful song into a frenzied bolero, with a multiplied tempo. Several things were happening, all of which Link's attention neglected: the sudden downpour, the steam pouring out of Link's ears, the strange light glowing from the ocarina. Link didn't even notice the crackling lightning, which was now occuring at very short intervals.

To the casual on-looker, it would appear that the catatonic Link was possesed. Standing on the edge of an island, playing the fastest song imaginable, completely disregarding the angry sea, the manic lightning shooting out across the sky, and the torrentual downpour of water from the sky.

Link thought one last, savage thought:  
"My brother abandoned me."

The elements reflected Link's rage. The turbulent, rocking entity that was the sea joined forces with the rain, and together lashed out at Link's brother's hut. Link stopped playing, and blinked, suddenly aware of his surroundings. Link dropped the ocarina. Sprinting up one side of the island and down the other, Link stared in horror as his brother's hut washed into the relentless sea. A brief glimpse of green amongst the hut-shards marked Link's brother, before it was quickly dragged underwater by the current. With Link's song over, the rain slowed and stopped, the clouds subsided, and the sea reverted to it's calm self. The day returned to a sunny, tropical disposition. Link was astonished at the destruction of both his brother and the other hut. It had literally been washed away, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.

Link sat down, and began to cry. "Never play when you're angry," his grandmother's voice rang through his head. Link had forgotten this useful advice, and it had cost Link's brother his life. Link was now, truly alone. Link sat in the sand, staring blankly out to sea. "If you sacrifice something you care for, you will get something better in return," Link suggested to the air, but realized it was not true.

* * *

_-Originally posted July 25th 2006_


End file.
